Study Of Technogenic Pollution Of Soil And Waters in Abandoned Fields on the North-Eastern Slope of the Lesser Caucasus
Anvar Aliyev1* , Natig Babayev1 , Yegana Kuliyeva2
Abstract. Pollution has direct and indirect effects on the nutrient and organic matter content of soils. Due to a lack of air in the waste from old copper mines with a highly acidic environment (pH 1.6–2.0), the mineralization of organic matter ceases, making direct use of the waste in agriculture impossible. Considering that this figure will increase as a result of the commissioning of new deposits in the Dashkasan region, where 51.5% of the territory is subject to pollution, it is important to pay special attention to the use of new, more modern technologies. The Ztotal contamination level often exceeds 128, indicating extreme levels. Concentrations of heavy metals, such as lead, can exceed the maximum permissible concentration by 12.7 times. Approximately 4.3% of the surveyed areas (according to monitoring data for 2022–2025) are classified as hazardously contaminated with heavy metals, a significant portion of which are located in former industrial zones. Further downstream there are reservoirs, the infiltration waters of which reduce the pH of the water to 3–3.5. It was found that in the area affected by copper ore processing waste, significant exceedances of maximum permissible concentrations of several elements were observed. The results of environmental monitoring, including water and sediment sampling, sample preparation, and quantitative analysis of sample composition are proof of the results. The article notes that developing measures for the removal and recycling of mining and processing waste will significantly reduce the anthropogenic impact on surface waterways.
Keywords: technogenesis, heavy metals, pollution, anthropogenic factors, degraded landscapes, soil erosion